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Living TheReview Wednesday, February 21,1990 — A16
Most cooks enjoy receiving new version of another favori®

Coquilles St. Jacques flambeesg#-

cookbooks. And I suspect most
cooks also have their favorite
cookbook or recipe collection
which they have learned through
experience to trust and to which
they refer again and again.

A dear friend whom, sadly, is
moving away from the Peninsula
soon, passed on two French cook-
books to me recently. One is the
cooking classic, Larousse Gastron-
omique, and the other is La Cuis-
ine de France, the iModem French
Cookbook. What a wonderful gift!
Already I feel they will become
good and true friends to this hobby
cook/columnist.

The great Auguste Escoffier
himself wrote the preface to the
original edition of Larousse. He
was known as the great “king of
cooks and the cook of kings.”
Actually, he died before the book
was published. He had written the
preface after reading the first draft
of the manuscript.

The author himself, Prosper
Montagne, was one of the most
celebrated of French chefs. This
book represents a monumental
work with well over a million
words and remains the longest
single volume cookery book ever
written.

The English language edition,
which I’ve been given, has 1,101
pages. I understand that when the
book was translated hundreds of
pages were left out because certain
“chemical analyses and all medi-
cal and dietary information which
is Obsolete or inaccurate for us
today have been omitted, as have
some of the very curious articles
on foreign cooking.”

The book is bigger and heavier
than my large Webster’s Diction-
ary and is, in fact, presented in the
form of a dictionary of cooking.
This makes for some curious read-
ing. For example, are you ready for
this?

After a lengthy dissertation on
Taspberries, the next entry is
“Rat.” It seems that back in the
1870s during the siege of Paris, the
tat became a necessary part of the
diet. Coopers (barrel-makers) in
the wine stores used to clean, skin
and season them with oil and
plenty of shallots. The rodent was
then grilled and eaten with gusto.
If you ever come across a dish
called Entrecote a la bordelaise,
don’t say I didn’t warn you!

And then we have a favorite of
mine — Ratatouille, except that I
never had this authentic recipe
before.

You have to peel and slice 6
aubergines (eggplants) and 6 Ital-
ian marrows (zucchinis), sprinkle
with salt and leave covered with a
weighted plate for 1 hour. Slice 2
large onions. Skin (by plunging for
a few seconds in boiling water) 8
tomatoes, remove the seedy part
and cup up the flesh. Slice 2 large
green peppers very thinly, remov-
ing the core and seeds of course.
Chop three cloves of garlic.

Heat 1 cup olive oil in a heavy
pan, fry onion until transparent
and add the garlic. Cook for five
minutes, then add the eggplant,
zucchini, peppers and tomatoes.
Season with salt and pepper, add a
bouquet garni and cook covered,
for an hour. This dish may be
served hot or cold. It’s just won-
derful with quiche.

By the way, you can make your
own bouquet garni by combining
together in a small piece of cloth
small quantities of dried thyme,
parsley and bay leaf. The cloth is
tied with thread or string into a

Cook the scallops in the wine
Over medium heat for 15 minutes.
little bag and dropped into the
cooking mixture. It is removed
when the cooking period is com-

Vive la cuisine

pleted. Certain kinds of dishes or
sauces might have a different com-

bination of herbs such as chervil,
basil, tarragon, bumet, rosemary,
Savory, etc.

La Cuisine de France is also a
large and lengthy book written by
Mapie, the Countess de Toulouse-
Lautrec. However, it is shorter than
Larousse, having a mere 763
pages.

Mapie, as she is known in
France, was brought up to the
traditional French cuisine as prac-
ticed in the elegant homes of
wealthy aristocrats. After the
Second World War, Mapie became
the Food Editor of the well-known
magazine Elle and later Food Edi-
tor of Realities.

Her recipe collection runs the
gamut from simple good food to
the ultra-sophisticated. Sophisti-

de France!

cated does not necessarily mean
complicated however.

Let’s try Mapie’s Parmesan Oys-
ters. For four people, you need two
dozen oysters in the shell, some
butter, 1 tbsp. chopped parsley, 6
tbsp. champagne, 1/2 cup grated
Parmesan cheese and a little pep-
per

Remove the oysters from their
shells and drain well. Butter a
Shallow baking dish and arrange
the oysters in the dish. Sprinkle
with chopped parsley and freshly
ground pepper. Sprinkle with
champagne and finally with grated
Parmesan cheese. Cook in a 400 F
oven for 10 minutes or until well
browned. Do not let boil.

And, finally, because we’re run-
ning out of space, here’s Mapie’s

(flaming scallops).

To serve six, get together 1 quart
(about 4 cups) scallops, 1 cup
white wine, 1/2 Ib. mushrooms, 7
tbsp. butter, 1 1/2 tbsps. cognac,
1/2 cup heavy cream, salt and
freshly ground pepper.

Trim and wash the mushrooms and
cut them into small pieces. Then,
10 minutes before serving, heat the
butter in a skillet and saute the
mushrooms. Stir with a wooden

spoon and, when the mushroom®®

begin to get firm, add the well-
drained scallops. Cook 5 to 6
minutes. Add the cognac and touch
with a lighted match. Add the
heavycream and season with salt
and pepper. Bring to a boil and
serve immediately. Superb when
done at the dining table in a
chafing dish. Bon apetit!

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